Article published: Monday, July 15th 2013

After months of flash mobs, petitions, occupation and protest six local libraries in Burnage, Fallowfield, Levenshulme, New Moston, Miles Platting and Northenden are having their funding withdrawn by Manchester City Council. What will the promised new “community” service look like?

Article published: Thursday, March 14th 2013

This April the Department for Work and Pensions will be implementing the controversial ‘bedroom tax’, as part of the government’s welfare reforms. The ‘tax’ will affect 12,300 social housing tenants in Manchester alone, who will be hit by 14 per cent to 25 per cent a week penalties for having spare rooms. On Saturday 16 March, those against the new legislation plan to march in protest.

Article published: Friday, February 22nd 2013

The Manchester Evening News reported on a £500,000 donation to Central Library. At first glance it might seem impressive that the Wolfson Foundation can donate such a large figure to a public library. But this money is to carry out the ‘wish list’ of culture bosses, after £48 million has already been spent.

Article published: Thursday, March 8th 2012

Founded in 1909 by America’s Socialist Party and launched internationally in 1911 to promote equal rights for women, in particular the vote, International Women’s Day (IWD) gained a new lease of life through the rise of women’s liberation in the early 1970s. But has it now become sanitised, and lost its political edge?

Article published: Friday, April 8th 2011

As the massive turnout for the March 26 demonstration in London proved, the cuts are proving to be extremely unpopular, even before they’ve really begun to bite. The coalition anticipated this, and have been expending a great deal of energy since they entered office in creating scapegoats. After all, people might otherwise begin to ask […]

Article published: Friday, January 28th 2011

Yesterday the Manchester Evening News published a stern warning from a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) senior officer to those attending Saturday’s protest to behave themselves – a somewhat strange intervention considering that in last year’s protests most disturbances seemed to be committed by the police. In doing this is the MEN reporting on real ‘news’ […]

Article published: Tuesday, December 14th 2010

Among the predictable stream of condemnation for the ‘violent’ protestors on the December 9 demonstration against tuition fees, it was pleasing to hear David Cameron say that it was time to stop talking about them as a “small minority.” “There were,” he said, “quite a lot of people who were hell bent on violence and […]

Culture

A heavy mist suddenly falls on a darkened Manchester hiding from sight unspeakably hideous creatures. Drums can be heard in the distance lulling you into a hypnotic trance, the work of witches and daemons no doubt. Or perhaps Voodoo ring masters, descending onto the city streets armed with psychedelic beats banged out by their armies of musical Goblins possessed with the desire for mischief and fun. It must be that time of year again; it can only be the Illuminaughty Halloween party.

Poetry and science are two things generally not associated with each other, in fact if you joined the two in a word association test you would be one step closer to a chemical cosh and your very own padded cell. However the audience attending the Science Slam at the packed out Nexus Art Cafe Thursday night will never again doubt the validity of the two pursuits being combined; though I can’t rule out they may end up bouncing of the walls of a padded cell at some time in the future.

We were outside Nexus Art Café in the Northern Quarter, queuing, when a car raced up, the driver shoved a woman to the pavement and the performance began. This was the introduction to the character Aggie in A Dream Play by the Déjà Vu Ensemble, daughter of the gods, who has come to our world to learn what it means to be human.